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Biomedical Engineering PhD Student Awarded TechHUB Grant

Posted:

January 16, 2018

This past November, biomedical engineering PhD candidate Alexis Burns was one of four students to win a TechHUB grant. The grant was open to all Ohio State students, undergraduate and graduate, and each applicant was able to win up to $5,000. The only strict requirement for what the project could be was this: it must deal with technology.

Alexis Burns, recipient of TechHUB grantEssentially, Burns is creating a way for doctors to monitor the movements of patients that have suffered from a stroke. Nearly 750,000 people in the United States will suffer from a stroke this year, and daily practice of functional body tasks is vital to the fully regain motor functions. Burns’s technology encourages patients to complete the tasks and allows doctors to monitor their patients progress. Her device uses wearable technology to track patient movement and send data to doctors. This not only directly helps the patient, but also gives doctors much needed insight into patient behavior. Burns will be using her grant to purchase testing materials and to expand the functionality of the device.

To win this grant, Burns and the other candidates had to give a 5-10 minute talk on their ideas to a panel of judges. The candidates were then evaluated and the four winners were chosen.

Burns completed her undergraduate degree at University of South Carolina and is in her fifth year of completing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She is currently advised by two BME graduate faculty advisors: Dr. Hojjat Adeli, professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Neuroscience and Neurology; and Dr. John Buford, professor in Health and Rehab Sciences.